


Yule in Alfheim

by Exdraghunt



Series: Wings and Tails [5]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Christmas fic, Fluff, M/M, author plays fast and loose with nordic mythology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-01 05:56:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16759285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exdraghunt/pseuds/Exdraghunt
Summary: Sportacus invites Robbie to his home for the winter-time holidays. Now, Robbie just has to survive his boyfriend's parents and a whole village of elves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time of year again, for my traditional Christmas Fic. (Or Yule, in this case) This time, I've chosen Lazytown. This is set in my Wings and Tails universe, some months after the events of Tails (don't worry, no spoilers for the bits I haven't written of that one yet)
> 
> This is going to pretty much just be a big fluff piece, cause I like cute-sy stuff this time of year, with a side of "I really feel like doing some worldbuilding about elves." I'm going to be borrowing from a variety of Nordic Mythology, as well as sticking in some of my own ideas. Anyway, enjoy!

“So,” Sportacus commented casually one afternoon, “It’s almost December. . .”

Robbie grunted from the other side of the lair to show he was listening, mouth too full of straight pins to speak. In his hands, he was painstakingly trying to pin together two slippery pieces of satin for some costume or another.

“And, I was thinking that it would be nice to go home and visit my family for the holidays this year.” As much as Sportacus enjoyed Christmas in Lazytown, he did greatly miss celebrating Yule with his family.

There was a brief yelp from Robbie as he pricked his tongue on one of the straight pins before spitting them all out onto his fabric. “Feh! So, you don’t want to stick around Lazytown for Christmas?”

“Well, it’s been three years since I’ve seen my family. I think the town can handle one Christmas without me.” At least, Sportacus certainly hoped they could.

“I guess I’ll find something to do with myself.” Robbie muttered as he turned back to his sewing project, wings drooping.

“What?” Sportacus laughed, realizing what the problem was. “No, Robbie. I want you to come with me.”

Another yelp, this time from Robbie shoving a straight pin into his thumb. “Wait. As in, come with you to elf-land?”

“To _Álfheimr,_ yes.” Sportacus was practically bouncing in place at the thought of being able to show his boyfriend around his beloved village. “ _Jul_ in _Álfheimr_ is so amazing. There are feasts, and lots of ale, and the whole region is draping in snow and decorated in lights. It is beautiful.”

The words “feasts” and “ale” had Robbie licking his lips a little bit, though he had to privately wonder if he and Sportacus had the same idea of what a “feast” constituted as. “And they’d let someone like me just waltz into the village?”

That made Sportacus laugh again, “There is no barrier keeping non-elves out. The village is simply well hidden so that it is hard to find. If you come with me, you will be welcomed with open arms.”

Robbie somehow doubted that, he’d never been welcomed “with open arms” anywhere in his entire life, but the elf was making his magical homeland sound pretty damn nice. “Well. . I guess.”

Sportacus smiled so broadly it seemed to light up the entire lair and dashed over to kiss Robbie on the cheek before flipping off towards the exit pipe. “Wonderful! I must send a letter to mother right away, she will be so excited to hear you are coming.”

Robbie had a distinct sinking feeling as he watched the elf go, belatedly realizing that, by agreeing to go with his boyfriend to his homeland for the holidays, he had also agreed to meeting his boyfriend’s parents. Oh, this was a terrible idea.

As the day of departure approached, Robbie wasn’t feeling any better about the whole situation. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that he was consumed with nerves. He had attempted to ignore the gnawing feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach through crafting a new set of winter clothes for himself, for Sportacus had revealed that _Álfheimr_ was located in the far north and was therefor quite cold in the winter, but such things could only be put off for so long.

On the day before they left, Robbie was an enormous mess of anxiety. He barely remembered saying goodbye to everyone, the kids mobbing him and Sportacus for a group hug and to pass over Christmas presents since they’d be gone until after New Year’s. Then, he had hurriedly packed, throwing together all of his warmest clothing along with an entire suitcase of instant hot chocolate powder and candy. (It was likely that the rest of Sportacus’ people would have the same aversion to sugar, and Robbie didn’t want to die of withdrawal in the two weeks they’d be gone.) Everything was thrown up into the airship, where Sportacus insisted that they spend the night so that they could get a nice, early start in the morning.

Several hours later found Robbie laying awake and staring up at the airship’s dark ceiling while Sportacus snored in his ear. While the man’s insomnia had improved considerably since he had started sharing a bed with his boyfriend, it still tended to rear its ugly head when Robbie was stressed or upset. And this certainly counted as both. What had he been _thinking_ , agreeing to meet Sportacus’ parents? They would probably hate him. He was a sugar-addicted, unhealthy, lazy loaf, the anti-thesis of everything sports elves loved. And even if they pretended to like him, they’d probably be telling Sportacus to dump him behind his back. And then he’d be alone, a changling fae in a village of elves who probably thought he was a freak.

Groaning, Robbie rolled over and buried his head into the pillow. Maybe soon he’d wake up and this’d all turn out to have been a bad dream.

Some time later, Robbie did actually wake up, only he was still in the airship. Clearly, he had managed to fall asleep somehow, because now the white, featureless space was filled with natural light and the sound of Sportacus pedaling could be heard from up in the bow of the ship.

Staying in the bed was looking very attractive right then, but unfortunately Sportacus seemed to sense he was awake.

“Good morning, Robbie.” Sportacus left the helm and came over to the bed, that huge smile still on his face. “Or, afternoon now, I guess.”

“Shouldn’t you be piloting this thing?” Robbie queried, a hint of panic in his voice. He still wasn’t very fond of the airship, and would’ve felt much better if Sportacus was actually flying the damn ship instead of letting them hurtle through the sky without a pilot.

“Loftskip has autopilot.” Sportacus reassured. “I was only pedaling to charge the batteries. The sunlight is strong enough now to keep things charged while we fly. Would you like lunch?”

Food? Food sounded like a good distraction, at least. Robbie nodded and began the arduous task of peeling himself out of the bed while Sportacus busied himself in the galley. By the time that Robbie had managed to extract himself from the warm covers and felt somewhat more awake, a plate of fluffy, buttered pancakes covered in a layer of sliced strawberries and drizzled with chocolate sauce had been set before him.

Robbie poked one of the strawberry slices with a fork, but eventually gave in and put it in his mouth. The fruit wasn’t quite as bad when coated in chocolate sauce, he had to admit.

“Did you sleep alright?” Sportacus asked as he made quick work of an apple (core and all.)

Mouth full of pancake, Robbie just shrugged. He hadn’t, of course, but didn’t particularly want to share the reasons why.

“Too excited?” Sportacus guessed with a grin. “Me too. I haven’t been home in almost three years. It will be so nice to see my parents and everyone again.”

Robbie just gave a vague grumble, unable to summon up even false cheer. Sportacus, being annoyingly perceptive, of course picked up on it.

“What’s wrong?” Sportacus frowned, “Robbie? I thought you were excited to visit _Álfheimr.”_

“Yes, very excited to be a non-elf visiting an entire village of elves. I’ll probably stick out like a sore thumb.” Robbie grumbled. “And then everyone will stare at me and ask questions and be loud.”

“There are folk living in _Álfheimr_ who aren’t elves.” Sportacus chuckled. “I know we have some trolls, a few families of dwarves, and even a few fae. And if people are staring at you, it’s only because of how handsome you are. If anything, everyone will stare at me, because they are so jealous.”

Robbie snorted even as he flushed a little at the flattery. “Yeah, right.”

“No, it’s true.” Sportacus insisted, moustache twitching in amusement. “When my friends meet you, they will say ‘Sportacus, how did you find such a beautiful creature to court?’ and I will tell them ‘It is because I am the luckiest elf in the realms.’ And they will be ever so jealous.”

Now Robbie was bright red, his wings folding to shield his face from view. All of his feathers were puffed up as if to guard him from the barrage of compliments, and a squeaking noise was coming from embarrassed ball of fae. Sportacus grinned and gently parted the feathers to give his boyfriend a kiss on the nose before cleaning up the remains of their lunch.

As the airship continued north they soon lost daylight again, and Sportacus had to return to pedaling to recharge the ship’s batteries. This gave Robbie plenty more time to fret and worry about their destination. He highly doubted that the other elves would think as highly of him as his boyfriend did. Sure, Sportacus couldn’t outright lie, but fair folk were experts at twisting the truth into falsehoods. Sportacus probably did think Robbie was the most ravishing being in the universe (a fact that Robbie still had a hard time believing), but that didn’t mean anyone else did. They were just sweet words.

Finally, after hours of flying, the airship began to lose altitude. Robbie crept towards the pilot seat (which he had been steadfastly avoiding so he wouldn’t have to see just how high off the ground they were) and caught sight of a seemingly endless forest of trees outside the ship’s window. Lit only by the full moon overhead, they looked very black and ominous indeed.

“Uh, Sportacus?” Robbie really, really didn’t like the way the treeline was getting closer and closer.

“Don’t worry. The forest isn’t as big as it looks.” Sportacus reassured, not slowing down his pedaling. With a slight nudge of the steering yoke, he adjusted their course. “It’s just a glamour, to hide the village from airplanes. We should pass through it in-“

The air outside seemed to shimmer for a moment, and suddenly Robbie could see the lights of a small village in the sea of trees. It was larger than Lazytown, though only just, with smaller houses radiating out from the center where several very large log buildings stood. The soft yellow lights shining from their windows and glittering in the trees cast a gentle glow across the thick blanket of snow covering everything, and Robbie had to admit that it did look rather pretty from above.

“There we go.” Sportacus steered the ship to a clearing outside the village and gently set it down in the snow. Several other airships sat there as well, all clearly of elven make, with a dusting of snow across them. “Oh, good. It looks like the other heroes are here as well.”

That didn’t sound good to Robbie at all. More elves to have to deal with. His hands shook a bit as he pulled out his new winter clothing and got dressed. It would be much colder outside than it was in the airship, as evidenced by even Sportacus putting on another layer. He had kept the blue snowflake jacket that Robbie had made for him two Christmas’ ago, and it still looked just as good on him. Robbie, meanwhile, had opted for an enormous purple fur-trimmed greatcoat with alterations for his wings that covered him from chin to ankle.

“Ready to go?” Sportacus picked up their suitcases without a hint of strain and looked to Robbie eagerly.

Robbie flipped up the hood of his coat to keep his ears warm and shrugged. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”

“Robbie, what’s wrong?” Sportacus set the suitcases back down and walked over to his boyfriend. “I promise, no crowds yet. We’ll just be meeting my parents.”

Which was honestly the part that had Robbie worried the most. He shrank back in the enormous, furry coat, shoulders hunched up near his ears. Sportacus was still staring at him, and probably would until he said something. Anything.

“What if your parents don’t like me?” Robbie finally whispered.

“Robbie, that’s silly.” Sportacus let out a little laugh. “My parents will love you! Is that really what has you so worried?”

“Well, excuse me for being silly!” Robbie shot back, a little offended to have his worries treated so lightly. “I haven’t exactly had a good track record with parents.”

Sportacus abruptly remembered what Robbie’s childhood had been like and the amusement left his face. Instead, he stepped forward and wrapped the man in a hug. He had been the silly one, to forget that Robbie, a changeling abandoned by two sets of parents, might have some fears about meeting his boyfriend’s parents. “I’m sorry, Robbie. I shouldn’t have said that. I promise, my parents are very excited to meet you. My mother asks about you in every letter she sends to me. And I’ll be right here the entire time.”

“Even if they tell you to dump me because I’m not good enough for you?” Robbie muttered into Sportacus’ hair.

“Nothing anyone else ever said would make me dump you.” Sportacus reassured. “But I am sure my parents will love you. Trust me.”

Robbie wasn’t sure he could, but he would try. Reluctantly, he followed the elf through the door to the airship and outside.

There were no crowds waiting to meet them, which made Robbie relax a small fraction. In fact, there seemed to be no one outside at all. Robbie shivered and pulled his coat closer around him (Sportacus hadn’t lied when he said it would be cold) as they walked through the apparently empty village. Houses lined the snowy paths; short, wooden structures with roofs that nearly reached the ground and appeared to be covered in grass under the layer of snow. They all looked as though they had been there for many, many years. Smoke curled from their chimneys and light shone through the small windows, the only real sign of life in the otherwise apparently empty village.

“You know, I assumed that the home of the elves would, you know, have more elves in it.” Robbie commented as he stumbled on the icy cobblestones, doing his best to keep up with Sportacus.

“The winter solstice is tomorrow night.” Sportacus commented, looking around the village with a nostalgic smile. “Everyone is getting ready for the _Odensjakt_ _._ I thought it might be easier on you if we arrived when the village was . . . quiet.”

Apparently, no matter how long Robbie knew Sportacus, the elf could still surprise him with moments of sweet insightfulness. “Okay. The odens-jakt?”

Sportacus’ brow furrowed, trying to find the words in English. “The wild hunt? I think they call it. The hunters are going out to catch the food for the solstice feast tomorrow night. It is a very important event. But it is also very loud and noisy. I didn’t think you would like it.”

“I- thanks.” Robbie wanted to protest that he wasn’t so socially incapable that he couldn’t handle a party, but honestly a loud and noisy gathering did sound awful.

“My parents are waiting for us, though.” Sportacus stopped in front of one of the houses, just like the others. Robbie pretended to be very interested in the intricate carvings around the doorframe, which seemed to depict various elves with numbers on their chests fighting monsters, as his boyfriend knocked on the door.

He had hardly gotten in a second knock before the door was thrown open with a loud squeal of “ _Tiu_!” A woman, even shorter than Sportacus with wild strawberry-blonde hair and a bushy fox’s tail, threw her arms around the younger elf and hugged him tightly. Another, older man, presumably Sportacus’ father, joined the elf-hug pile and there was a brief burst of incomprehensible elvish amoungst the trio.

Then, Sportacus’ mother spotted Robbie standing awkwardly on the doorstep.

“And you must be Robbie!” She exclaimed in good, if heavily accented, English. Robbie tensed as she gathered him up in a bone-crushing hug (yep, now he knew where Sportacus got his strength and unbridled energy), pulling back to squish his cheeks just as Robbie felt like he might pass out from lack of oxygen. “Oh, you are even more handsome than my son said. Come in, come in!”

With that, the pair were tugged into the house and the door shut behind them. They were prompted to leave their shoes next to the neat array of footwear and winter gear in the entry way, then the pair and their bags were hustled the rest of the way into the small house. The first thing Robbie noticed was the heat, a wave of warmth from the blazing woodstove in the far corner of the cozy living room hitting him as soon as the door shut and making him feel like he was baking in his big, furry coat.

“Here, I can hang up your coat.” That was Sportacus’ father, and as Robbie reluctantly parted with his protective layer, he realized with a shock that he recognized the older elf.

“Wait. Number Nine?” Though the man was a little older, he hadn’t changed that much in the almost twenty years since Robbie last saw him.

Sportacus’ father tilted his head, before his eyes widened in recognition. “Robbie _Rotten_?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- apologies to anyone hoping for /angst/. only fluff for christmas :3

Sportacus looked between his father and his boyfriend with some confusion. “You two know each other?”

“Of course!” Robbie exclaimed, “He’s _Number Nine_! The annoying elf that was in Lazytown before you showed up!”

“I spent a year or so in Lazytown in my days as a Numbered Hero.” The older elf explained to his son, still staring at Robbie. “And I well remember a certain young Rotten who hated elves and threatened to tell the entire town what I was.”

Robbie shrugged nervously, but didn’t deny it. “I was twelve!” Old enough for his wings to have begun to grow in. Old enough to have researched what he was, and what other supernatural beings lurked. Old enough to have lost faith that his real parents would return to him, and to have become jaded and distrustful of every adult, human or not. “I wouldn’t have actually done it. Probably. Not enough style.”

“Well! It is good to see you here now. Clearly, you have gotten over your dislike of elves!” Sportacus’ father chuckled, dissipating the tension in the room, and clapped Robbie on the shoulder. “I retired as Number Nine, but you can still call me _Niu_. Everyone does.”

“Uh, right.” Robbie stumbled from the force of the friendly blow, a little shocked from the sudden mood change. He had been so sure his boyfriend’s father was about to dress him down but instead. Nothing.

“Oh, good, you two know each other.” Sportacus’s mother clapped her hands together in delight. “Then you two can talk for a minute. Come with me, Tiu. I have something for you.” With that, she grabbed her son’s hand and started tugging him towards another room. Sportacus could only look at Robbie helplessly and mouth ‘sorry’ as he was dragged away.

Suddenly, Robbie was left alone with his boyfriend’s father. _Oh No_. 

“Come, Robbie. I want to talk to you.” Niu went over to one of the couches in the room and sat (after flipping over the back, because _of course_ ).

With extreme reluctance, Robbie slunk over to the couch as well and perched himself on the opposite cushion. His hands found his way to one of his wingtips, stroking the long primary feathers over and over to try and keep himself from completely freaking out. “If this is about me dating Sportacus-“

“No, no. I am happy to see my Tiu courting. He is young, but he can choose his own paramours.” Niu leaned forward, those earnest, deep blue eyes that were so like his son’s boring into Robbie. “I wanted to apologize to you, Robbie Rotten.”

Robbie looked over his shoulders, wondering if maybe someone else with his name had popped up while he wasn’t looking, because why would this elf that he had been an enormous pain in the ass to as a child feel the need to apologize? “To _me_?”

“Yes. When I came to Lazytown, I saw a stubborn, willful child too set in his ways to change. One who hated me too much to change.” Niu chuckled briefly at the memory, much funnier now than it had been then. “And so I left you be, to focus my energy on the other children, because you were not going to listen to me.”

“I’ve always been the laziest person in Lazytown.” Robbie said with some pride in his voice.

“No. I should have realized it then. You were a faerie child abandoned and hurt by the magical world. As a numbered hero, it was my job to help you. And I left. I am sorry.”

“It’s no problem!” Robbie hurried to reassure, terrified that this might turn into some kind of deep, emotional conversation. “Sportacus shoved his way into my life, I grew a huge set of wings, and everything’s fine now.”

“Well. At least my son succeeded while I did not.” Niu nodded in satisfaction and, to Robbie’s dismay, felt the need to hug it out. Elves were apparently a very touch-y sort.

Finally, the older elf released him and jumped to his feet. “Come now, I am sure you are hungry after such a long journey. We made sure to prepare plenty of food.”

Food, yes. Food was good. Food meant not having to talk or answer awkward questions. And, to Robbie’s delight, the spread across the carved, wooden table in the dining room looked absolutely delicious. True, there weren’t any sugary desserts, but it was also thankfully bare of raw fruit. Instead, there were plates of smoked fish, roast goose, and some things that were unidentifiable but still smelled amazing.

Sportacus and his mother were already in the kitchen, and Robbie saw his boyfriend slip a box into his pocket before sitting down at the table. Hmm, he’d have to see what that was about later. After food.

Robbie was all too eager to sit himself down and start stuffing himself. Sportacus, seated next to him, ate nearly as fast, digging in to the various delicious dishes.

“You act as though you never eat!” Sportacus’ mother commented with amusement.

“No one cooks like you, _Móðir,”_ Sportacus complimented.

“That, and I’m sure our son is still hopeless in the kitchen.” Niu chuckled, his own plate heaped high.

“Wait.” Robbie swallowed roughly and looked at his boyfriend. “Are you telling me that the reason you live purely off of raw fruits and vegetables is because you can’t cook?”

Sportacus turned a little red, the tips of his ears flushing in an adorable way. “Sportscandy is also very good for you.”

“Tiu never had the patience for cooking.” Niu confided in Robbie with a wink. “Isn’t that right, Fríðr?”

“He nearly burned the entire house down. Several times.” Fríðr laughed. “Finally, I stopped letting him into the kitchen.”

“I thought that if I turned up the heat, it would cook faster!” Sportacus looked even more embarrassed, and Robbie realized that he had overlooked one positive fact about meeting his boyfriend’s parents: the potential for embarrassing childhood stories. Maybe he’d have fun on this vacation after all.

“We’ll have to work on that, Sporty.” Robbie smirked, amused to be better than his boyfriend at something, “I happen to be the greatest baker in Lazytown.”

“Oh?” Fríðr seemed quite intrigued by that, “You shall have to make us something before you leave.”

The grin on Robbie’s face faded a bit as he tried to think of at least one recipe he knew that wouldn’t put these people into a coma.

“Robbie usually cooks human recipes. I am sure we can think of something to make, though.” Sportacus suggested, making Robbie give him a grateful look.

“I look forward to it.” Fríðr smiled, “Until then, I hope that you enjoy the dessert tonight.”

“D-dessert?” Robbie was both excited and afraid to find out what that would be. Sportacus’ idea of dessert was usually just more fruit. Usually something “exotic” or particularly freaky looking. (Robbie had been forced to ban Durian fruit from the lair altogether)

“Tiu has mentioned how much you like cake, so we baked something special.” Niu commented. “It was a good excuse to use the last of the season’s berry harvest.”

“Berries” and “cake” weren’t two words that belonged together in the same sentence in Robbie’s opinion, but it was kind of sweet that they’d made an effort. Robbie would just have to serve himself a very small slice and hope they wouldn’t notice if he mashed it around instead of eating it.

Conversation turned towards discussion of Lazytown and how things had changed since Niu had last been, which gave Robbie a good chance to brag about his inventions (conveniently leaving out how they had a habit of backfiring on him.) Then the topic changed to something about how Fríðr’s plants were doing, which involved a lot of elvish words and very quickly lost Robbie.

Despite his inability to follow the conversation, there was still something. . .pleasant about sitting around the table eating together. The dining room/kitchen was small, but in a cozy rather than claustrophobic sort of way. It was nothing like the sleek, stark white-ness of the airship. Instead, the walls were wooden and decorated with art (from what Robbie could see, the prominent theme seemed to be deer), and a small chandelier over the table cast its light to every corner. The only sign that he was still in the modern day were the electric lights and a sleek stove and cooktop built into the counter.

Idly, Robbie wondered if this was what having a real family was like. Sitting together, talking about their days, casual conversation with no arguing or fights. It was nice.

Slowly, the pace of their eating slowed and the amount of food on the table dwindled. Finally, Fríðr stood and took their plates. “Okay. Time for dessert!”

Despite his misgivings, Robbie couldn’t help but sit up a little straighter as a cake was set in the middle of the table. It wasn’t a double-decker monster, to his slight disappointment, and had dark blue and red berries scattered over its white frosting. Robbie did his best to keep from frowning as a slice on a plate was handed to him. “What is it?”

“Skyr cake,” Fríðr said with a smile, “Made the old way. Here, try some.”

Hesitatingly, Robbie picked up his fork and carved out a small piece. Sticking in his mouth, he was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It was somewhat like cheesecake, only lighter. There was no onrush of sugar like from the cakes he normally preferred, and a generous helping of chocolate sauce probably would’ve improved it, but it at least wasn’t terrible.

Taking another bite, Robbie glanced over at Sportacus and nearly dropped his fork. The elf was actually eating a slice of cake. _Cake_. Sure, it was weird healthy elvish cake, but still.

“Gods, I wish I had a camera.” Robbie smirked, enjoying the surprised and somewhat guilty look on Sportacus’ face when he realized he was being watched. “The kids would never let you live this down. Their goody, goody healthy hero eating cake.”

Sportacus coughed and swallowed his food with some difficulty. “Robbie! You wouldn’t!”

“I’m a villain, remember?” Robbie said with a grin, “I most certainly would.”

A chuckle from the other side of the table reminded the pair that they had an audience to their flirting.

“Well, son. It seems you have as much trouble with your villain as I did.” Niu laughed, the slice of cake on his plate already gone.

If possible, Sportacus turned even more red. Still, he gamely attempted to return to normal conversation. “What happened to your villain?”

“To Glanni Glaepur? Oh, I’m sure he’s still out there somewhere, engaging in petty crime. I never did stop him for long.” Niu had a small smile on his face as he reminisced. “He’s the problem of the new Number Nine now. You know, Robbie. You remind me of Glanni a little.” The elf looked at Robbie contemplatively.

Robbie narrowed his eyes, unsure if that was a compliment or not, but let it go.

Any further dinner chit chat was suddenly brought to a halt by the loud blasting of a trumpet somewhere outside, accompanied by the howling of what sounded like an army of dogs. Robbie flinched in his seat and looked around wildly, afraid the world was ending, while the elves just seemed excited.

“Oh, the odensjakt is passing!” Fríðr jumped up from the table, the rest of the family not far behind. Robbie found himself hauled from his seat as well and pulled towards the house’s front door. Before he quite knew what was happening, he found himself standing on the small front porch, shivering and looking out at the empty, snowy street.

“Why are we out here?” Robbie grumbled, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Look.” Sportacus wrapped an arm around him and pointed down the lane towards the center of town. In the distance, something was coming.

The trumpets and howling sounded again, closer this time, and now a low rumble, like thunder, could be heard. Whatever it was, it was getting closer and closer.

All at once, the great procession came upon them. It was a small army, at least a hundred if not more, all seated either on horseback or what appeared to be giant deer. They whooped and hollered as huge spectral hounds loped about the feet of their mounts, baying wildly. All of the riders had swords at their sides or bows and arrows upon their backs, and the tongues lol’d from the mouths of the horses and deer as they were spurred on. Most incredible of all, the entire enormous hunting party was galloping in midair, the hooves of their mounts more than 6 feet off the ground.

Robbie’s mouth dropped open as the spectacle passed, while the elves waved to friends in the hunting party. He had read about the phenomenon of Wild Hunts, and seen classical paintings, but nothing compared to actually seeing it in person. The sight was incredible, and Robbie could understand why people had been so terrified of it.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Sportacus whispered in Robbie’s ear, blue eyes bright and dancing as he thrilled in showing his boyfriend the traditions of his people.

“It’s. Sure something.” Robbie responded weakly. The last rider passing glanced down at them, raising his gloved hand in a wave before galloping out of sight.

“The Solstice hunt is the largest.” Sportacus explained as they went back inside. “Tomorrow, they’ll return with enough food for all the villages, and we will have a feast.”

“This winter solstice thing is a big deal to you, huh?” Robbie gratefully approached the wood stove in the corner of the living room to get some warmth back into his body. He’d felt the strangest urge to leap up and join the hunters as they passed, though now that the sounds were fading out of earshot the weird pull was fading. His heart still pounded in his chest as though he’d run a marathon, and his limbs felt a bit shaky.

“Of course!” Sportacus chirped, fondly remembering winter celebrations past. “You know, there is a reason that humans have Christmas in midwinter. Many of the traditions are from older solstice and midwinter celebrations.”

That did sound vaguely familiar. Robbie’s past research into elves and the supernatural had touched on the history of Christmas, due to the idea of “Christmas Elves,” but he hadn’t really paid that much attention.

Feeling tired from the excitement of the day, the hearty meal, and the lack of sugar in his system, Robbie found a seat in one of the chairs in the room and was soon nodding off to the sound of Sportacus’ family talking about some inane subject or another. Something about the deer herds, and cooking, and –

“ _Maybe you two should retire for the night_.” Fríðr smiled gently as she watched Robbie’s head bob as he tried and failed to stay awake in his chair. The man didn’t even stir at her words, though that was likely because she had slipped back into Elvish. “ _Your father and I prepared your old room for you. I assume a single bed will suffice?”_

 _“A single bed will be fine.”_ Sportacus turned a bit red at the implication, though that just made his parents smirk knowingly a bit more. _“I am surprised, it normally takes him much longer to get to sleep.”_

 _“Your mother’s cooking can have that effect.”_ Niu joked. His next words were a little more serious, though. _“Witnessing the passing of the Wild Hunt can also be hard on humans. Your Robbie might be part fae, but he is also part human. Not everything in our world is safe for him.”_

 _“I will remember.”_ Sportacus promised, turning around to take Robbie’s hands and tug him from his chair. “Come on, Robbie. Time for bed.”

Robbie grumbled as he was pulled upright, prompting Sportacus to hoist the taller man into his arms and carry him bridle-style towards the stairs. The small room upstairs was small and dark, tucked under the eaves with a slanting roof, but it was at least warm from the heat rising up from the rooms below. Robbie managed to stay awake long enough to change into pajamas, but only just, and was solidly out by the time his head hit the pillow.


End file.
